YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, urging recognition of YSRCP as the main opposition party in the Assembly. Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed concerns over the procedural fairness and impartiality in the Assembly.
He remarked that his ability to speak in the House would be subject to the mercy of the ruling coalition, which holds a significant majority, and the discretion of the Speaker, who made a controversial statement that Jagan should be “beaten to death”. In his letter, Jagan highlighted that the swearing-in ceremony of MLAs on June 21 did not adhere to the traditional protocol, which usually sees the Leader of the House and then the Leader of the Opposition taking the oath first. Instead, Jagan claimed he was made to take his oath after the ministers, indicating a preconceived decision to deny him the opposition leader status. He cited Section 12-B of the Andhra Pradesh Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualification Act-1953, which defines the main opposition party as the one with the most strength among opposition parties.
He argued that this law should clearly entitle YSRCP to the status of the main opposition. Jagan also dismissed the notion that YSRCP does not qualify as the main opposition due to not securing 10 percent of the Assembly seats. He mentioned that in 1984, the TDP won 30 MP seats in the 543 Lok Sabha elections.
Despite not having 10 percent of the seats, Parvataneni Upendra of TDP was recognised as the main opposition leader. Similarly, in the 1994 joint Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress secured only 26 seats out of 294, yet P. Janardhan Reddy was identified as the main opposition leader. Additionally, Jagan highlighted the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, where the BJP won only three seats out of 70 but was still granted the status of the main opposition party. “I am bringing all these issues to your attention only in the interest of the public.
I am writing this letter to you with the intention of getting enough time to raise our voice in the Assembly on behalf of the people,” Jagan stated while addressing the Speaker. He underscored that YSRCP, having won 40 percent of the votes in the recent elections, holds a responsibility to represent the public’s voice in the Assembly. Jagan emphasised that without official recognition as the main opposition, YSRCP would be effectively silenced in legislative activities, preventing effective oversight and discussion of government policies.
Jagan concluded by urging the Speaker to consider the numerical strength of the parties and grant YSRCP the main opposition status, ensuring adequate representation and active participation in Assembly proceedings.
